WARMANN: Ups and Downs of Weekend at Busch

Former St. Louis Cardinals manager Tony LaRussa shakes hands with pitcher Jake Westbrook following ceremonies offically retiring his jersey number 10, before the Atlanta Braves-St. Louis Cardinals baseball game at Busch Stadium in St. Louis on May 11, 2012. UPI/Bill Greenblatt

(KMOX, St. Louis) — It was a frustrating weekend for our local baseball team as they were swept by the Braves. But there were a couple of things that transpired at the stadium over the weekend that made me feel really good.

First, there was Friday night’s ceremony honoring Tony La Russa. While I was taken a bit off guard at the quick timing of Tony’s number retirement, it is richly deserved. Tony will always have many detractors in the town, but the bottom line is La Russa’s teams were competitive and the tradition rich Cardinal organization has never seen a more successful run than the one Tony led during his 16 years of service with the organization. His success leading the Redbirds put the organization as one of the most successful in all of pro sports. And it was great to see the stadium packed on Friday in support of the winningest manager in Cardinal history.

Speaking of the fans, they deserve a huge kudos for their part this weekend at Busch. The ovations Chipper Jones received at all three games were fantastic. There aren’t many, if any fans in major league baseball that would show their appreciation for a player’s career accomplishments from an opposing team than the ones from the Gateway City. Jones is a sure bet to make it into Cooperstown and I think the Cardinal fans showing their appreciation for what Chipper has done in his career further solidifies the notion that the baseball fans in this town are the best in baseball.

On the downside, Chipper Jones’ team, the Braves, were a better than the Cards in every facet of the game. Suddenly the pitching is slipping a bit and the Birds bats did not do the damage we’ve seen in previous weeks. I said last week on KMOX that I was curious to see how this team would play against teams outside of their division. Well, we just got a taste with one of the better NL teams and in the near future the Dodgers and Phillies are on the schedule. I know the Phillies have struggled to start the year, but they still have a lot of talent and will be another great test for the Redbirds. Hopefully a healthy Cards team can keep their distance with their rivals in the Central.